Grady Ollison moved back to DL.

[Amityvillehogger]

Holmes almost single handedly saved the 2000 season.  We were sitting at 4-5 with 2 games to go.  MSU was up 10-0 at the half of a misserable sleet freezing rain game.  Holmes rushed for 95 yards and scored a TD in regulation that helped send the game to OT.  Then scored a TD in OT to win.  Following weed against LSU he went for 143 in a 14-3 win.

That LSU game... I think he had like 40+ rushing attempts in the rain.

[CDBHawg]

And only one of those 2 of those DT's have played meaningful snaps in SEC games.

What?

[OnTheHillHogFan]

What?

We may have 9 DT's on scholarship but only 2 of them have played meaningful snaps and neither one of those guys has had to start for a full season. DT is a thin position even though we have 9 scholarship players at DT.

[forrest city joe]

A lot of you are missing the bottom line on this move. yes we need more help at DT. but the main thing this move says is Brian Wallace is that good. and will be the swing tackle for this team.

[intelligence]

A lot of you are missing the bottom line on this move. yes we need more help at DT. but the main thing this move says is Brian Wallace is that good. and will be the swing tackle for this team.

ladies and gentlemen, skip bayless and his infinite wisdom

[Tim Harris]

This is a move I've been asking for since last year.  DT has been a weakness of ours for years and that is what Grady was coming out of HS.  With Cook playing good and Wallace now being on campus I'm sure it made it easier for them to make the change.

[alwaysnextyear]

Hodge is a 1st down and 2nd and short guy. Philon is the playmaker in the middle. Hopefully between Jackson, Johnson, and Ollison we can find serviceable depth.

[Tim Harris]

Hodge is a 1st down and 2nd and short guy. Philon is the playmaker in the middle. Hopefully between Jackson, Johnson, and Ollison we can find serviceable depth.

Hodge is now 2nd string behind Philon.

[redleg]

DT - Philon, Hodge, Ollison
NG - Johnson, Jackson, Boyd, Marks

Look for Bijhon Jackson to make some noise with his play, and be the starting NG by mid-season at the latest. Taiwan Johnson just won't be able to take the pounding for an entire season only weighing 260 lbs. Johnson is very talented, a 4* guy by some recruiting services coming out of high school, but he just isn't big enough right now to take that kind of punishment with the teams on the schedule.
Darius Philon and Jackson will be the starters when it is all said and done. Jackson is a major talent.
Look for Ollison to be a key cog in the DT rotation, especially since it is his more natural position, and because he now has the strength and size (6'5" 309 lbs.) to be effective.

[three hog night]

DT - Philon, Hodge, Ollison
NG - Johnson, Jackson, Boyd, Marks

Look for Bijhon Jackson to make some noise with his play, and be the starting NG by mid-season at the latest. Taiwan Johnson just won't be able to take the pounding for an entire season only weighing 260 lbs. Johnson is very talented, a 4* guy by some recruiting services coming out of high school, but he just isn't big enough right now to take that kind of punishment with the teams on the schedule.
Darius Philon and Jackson will be the starters when it is all said and done. Jackson is a major talent.
Look for Ollison to be a key cog in the DT rotation, especially since it is his more natural position, and because he now has the strength and size (6'5" 309 lbs.) to be effective.

Taiwan Johnson will use his quickness to shoot gaps and disrupt the offense.  He will be very effective against HUNH teams.  He will probably sit out run heavy pro-style games.

[Sonofahog]

What is the word on Ward?  Is he still injured?  Wondering if the back injury is gonna keep him off the field forever, or if he is just a notch below the others and destined to be a scout team guy.  As highly as some scouts thought of him, I would think he would be getting closer to a little playing time.

Ward I believe had his surgery and will be trying to gain another year of eligibility.
Kid is big and very strong. Hope it works out for him.

[Oklahawg]

Nine guys in the warm-up line.

Philon and Hodge only two with meaningful reps in SEC action.

Jackson was playing mid-level Arkansas HS football a year ago. Incredible upside, but how long (and how bumpy) is the progression?

Johnson's size is not the issue. The issue is the stamina and health that goes with that size. It is the flipside of Hodge, who was too big to stay on the field a year ago (stamina and health).

Boyd, Ollison and Ward give depth. But, they have spent a lot of time working OL. Just how quick do we expect them to make the transition? This is not stamina, health or talent - this is learning curve. In that regard, they are Jackson, without the upside that is so obvious (else they would have been there earlier).

Marks is a RS FR and Watts a True FR. Philon did it and Jackson will do it. How many more reps can you count on from the pups? The two commits in the 2015 recruiting class likely won't RS either. We have bodies, and the depth of usable players is deeper than in recent memory, but we are not stacked with high-potential guys. We have a couple (more than usual, following 15 years when a single DL of note was something) and those behind have more room to improve than we are accustomed to.

I am a DL optimist. I think they have a fantastic technician as a position coach. The staff is littered with defensive prowess. They will get serviceable players on the field. What we are wanting is for the DL to not rely too heavily on the top Hogs, Philon, Hodge, and Jackson. Optimally, you have three others of similar skills and availability. We do not have that today. That is a goal for the season, and while I think we'll see players vs Auburn not in the top 3 I don't know that we'll find a "top 6" before mid-October. Watts gets overlooked in my opinion. Marks as well.

[onebadrubi]

Nine guys in the warm-up line.

Philon and Hodge only two with meaningful reps in SEC action.

Jackson was playing mid-level Arkansas HS football a year ago. Incredible upside, but how long (and how bumpy) is the progression?

Johnson's size is not the issue. The issue is the stamina and health that goes with that size. It is the flipside of Hodge, who was too big to stay on the field a year ago (stamina and health).

Boyd, Ollison and Ward give depth. But, they have spent a lot of time working OL. Just how quick do we expect them to make the transition? This is not stamina, health or talent - this is learning curve. In that regard, they are Jackson, without the upside that is so obvious (else they would have been there earlier).

Marks is a RS FR and Watts a True FR. Philon did it and Jackson will do it. How many more reps can you count on from the pups? The two commits in the 2015 recruiting class likely won't RS either. We have bodies, and the depth of usable players is deeper than in recent memory, but we are not stacked with high-potential guys. We have a couple (more than usual, following 15 years when a single DL of note was something) and those behind have more room to improve than we are accustomed to.

I am a DL optimist. I think they have a fantastic technician as a position coach. The staff is littered with defensive prowess. They will get serviceable players on the field. What we are wanting is for the DL to not rely too heavily on the top Hogs, Philon, Hodge, and Jackson. Optimally, you have three others of similar skills and availability. We do not have that today. That is a goal for the season, and while I think we'll see players vs Auburn not in the top 3 I don't know that we'll find a "top 6" before mid-October. Watts gets overlooked in my opinion. Marks as well.

Did the Dane at the IMG sign a FAA?  You mentioned him as two of te 15 commits and that popped in my head.

[GuvHog]

Taiwan Johnson will use his quickness to shoot gaps and disrupt the offense.  He will be very effective against HUNH teams.  He will probably sit out run heavy pro-style games.

Is that 260 LBS weight accurate for him or was that his weight when he arrived on campus??? Seems rather smallish for a DL.

[Pig in the Pokey]

I'll give you that the recruiting and development thus far has been promising, but it still hasn't produced results on the field yet, so it can't reasonably be taken as fact that "this staff has built enough depth along the Oline". In my opinion, this is likely more about patching depth on the defensive line than anything. Maybe in a few years we'll have the depth you speak of on the Oline, but right now we simply don't. I suspect that we'll play teams close this year for 3 quarters, and sometimes fall apart in the fourth due to fatigue. This can't be blamed on the players or on the staff, but rather could be attributed to petrinos inability to manage the roster. I could be totally wrong, and we could not even be that far along, or we could be much farther along like what you suggest, but for now i feel like we have acquired a decent catalog of 1s, with some decent 2's sprinkled in here and there. If the staff is able to keep things up on the recruiting front, I think we will have the depth we need to compete in the SEC in a very short time.

this is absolutely right. 1 more thing that I suspect will be proven on the field in short order is the training/coaching from Herb and Sam. It's gonna show up eventually.